Borneo PADI Open Water: Dive Kota Kinabalu's Paradise!

Recently completed my RAID Open Water 20 certification with Borneo Dream Travel, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for better instructors than Alex and Didi. Both were incredibly professional, patient, and made every dive feel safe, fun, and confidence-building. I felt safe from my very first dive due to their great instructions and patience in getting me comfortable in the water. Honestly, learning things as an adult is not easy, but it felt easy with them! From the very first session to the open water dives, Alex and Didi explained everything so clearly and calmly that I always felt supported — even when I was nervous at first. Their attention to detail and focus on safety really stood out. I also met a couple from the UK on the dive boat who came for a fun dive, and they've done multiple dives around the world, and even they said Borneo Dream gave the best instructions they’ve ever had — which says a lot! After hearing from my friends who trained under PADI and SSI, I genuinely think RAID offers a more modern and thoughtful approach to dive education. The online theory and emphasis on real understanding (rather than just memorization) made such a difference in how confident I felt underwater. If you’re thinking about diving in Kota Kinabalu — whether it’s your first time or your 50th — I would 1000% recommend Borneo Dream, Didi, and Alex. Safe, professional, and such a joy to learn from. I’ll definitely be coming back for more dives soon!

We had such a great time with Basir and enjoyed every moment. He was a perfect teacher. We saw many beatiful things. The lunch was not special.

I can just confirm all the other 5 star reviews! I had a great time and Basir is really great both personally and professionally so I would 100% recommend it.

our instructor Basir, was amazing! he is very thorough with requirements and guide us skillfully, very friendly and funny too! the whole 3 days of dives was a very memorable one! I'll recommend to others:)

Basir is the best instructor ever!! He was super professional but also super fun. He made our experience amazing and we are so grateful we had him as our instructor. Also the captain Didi was a 10/10!! I recommend it 100% 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼🐡🐡🐡

Basir has been our instructor for 3 days and I can only thank him for his patience and the incredible treatment he has given us. 100% recommendable, the best open water instructor, thank you.

Had a 3 days Open Water Diving Course with Amir and the experience was just perfect. I had no experiences with scuba diving and was initially feeling abit nervous but Amir managed calm my nerves with his humour. But when it came to the course itself, Amir was serious and made sure that the skills and lessons were learnt properly. The demonstration and structure of the confined water dive/lessons were really good which made it easy to follow and as a result, I managed to learn all the essential skills and had the ability to demonstrate them. During our open water dives, I was shown the beauty of the sea and along the way, Amir continously made sure that I was ok. Also am proud to be his last PADI student. All in all, this was a really great experience and I am really happy with the services provided by BorneoDream. Special thanks to the captain (I forgot his name...) and Alex who helped my friend retrieve his dji action camera after dropping it into the sea while snorkeling. The way he put on his BCD and dove into the sea was probably the closest I've been to an action movie scene.

The course is conducted professionally with objectives and milestones done in a systematic manner. Our Trainer Basir Iturabin is encouraging, and ensures we are fully competent and comfortable for an enjoyable learning. Thanks captain Azmi for ferry us to the dives site and assisting in our pre-dives checks. Special thanks to Alex , our diving companion and his cookies.

My brother and I decided to go with Borneo Dream for our PADI Open Water and Advanced course. (5 days total) We were not disappointed! Bas was a firm yet reassuring instructor, giving us lots of insights on the proper techniques and skills needed as a diver. We had mini fun sessions with him teaching us interesting skills underwater, this helped relieve some of the anxiety before our lessons. He patiently answers our many questions, and has a great eye in spotting marine life! So we got to see many creatures that we would have missed otherwise. Our boat captain Azmi was a joy to be with! He lightens the mood on board, helps us in and out of the water along with making sure we are suited up safely. Offers us snacks on board! It’s always fun to be on board. Our lunches at Padang Point were great. Very happy with our first diving experience and one we’ll definitely remember !

Couldn't thank Bas (my diving instructor), Didy and his team enough. Bas is an experienced diver and an exceptional, patient teacher. I was really nervous when I first started, but he broke it down into achievable small steps and had been encouraging all throughout the course. My training and open water dive felt safe, thanks to Bas and his team. The boat captain, Didy has been really supportive during my course too. He made sure that I entered and exited the water safely at all times.